Precious Moments like These
by CollieandShire
Summary: A series of one shots and drabbles focusing on mainly Peter but including Neal, Elizabeth and Mozzie. Life at home with our favorite FBI agent and his wife, along with their newly born child Elise. A series of precious memories being made as little Elise grows up in the Burke's household.
1. Chapter 1

_Well, I'm back with another story! I was not planning on continuing Elise's story, but kind of felt the prompt to after imagining how much fun it would be to write some later scenes with Peter and Elise. So the result was _Precious Moments like These_. Actually I think that's a song from a Christian CD we had…but I'm not sure. Anyways, if it is then I give credit to the artist for the title, whoever it is. :D_

_To new readers-this series of drabbles and one-shots are off of my other story, _Journey. _You do not have to read Journey to make sense of this story, but I do recommend it because it gives this one a nice touch. :)_

_Thanks for reading and please review and follow, as I'll be sporadic about posting and may take my time in posting another chapter. But follows and reviews always inspire me, like every other writer!_

_Thanks again!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

Peter lay awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. In the last week he'd gotten to know that ceiling really well, down to which grooves looked like bears, balloons or bottles of bubbles. He had never hoped to become so familiar with the roof that was over his head, but such was life when you were a father of a two-week old baby.

Elizabeth was walking up and down the hall with their daughter in her arms, and Peter could hear her shushing her and humming her. The baby continued to cry, and Peter glanced at the bed clock on the chest next to him. Two-thirty in the morning. _Oh, tomorrow is going to be a very long day at the office. _He groaned. _Oh wait, it is tomorrow. _He was _really _tired.

Peter sat up and yawned, rubbing his eyes. He bit his lower lip thoughtfully as he stared at the open door that led to the hallway, and sighed. Moving the flower decorated covers he got out of the bed and walked towards the hall.

His beautiful dark haired wife was just turning around to make another round in the hall and caught sight of her husband. "Hon? You're still up? Why don't you go back to sleep, you have a long day ahead of you." Elizabeth said gently, coming towards him and laying her free hand on his shoulder. Elise continued to cry, and Peter glanced down at his red-haired daughter.

"That's alright El, I'm not going to be able to sleep." He assured her. "Actually I was coming out here to ask if you'd like me to take a turn."

El let a moment of hope cross her face, but she quickly shook her head. "No, it's fine. I don't have work in the morning and you do. I'm fine dear."

But Peter was firm. "Honestly El, you've been up almost every night for the last two weeks. I can take a turn, that's what partners do for each other."

Elizabeth smiled and kissed him, then whispered in his ear, "Thank you Peter." She handed Elise over and put her in his arms, then tiptoed to her room.

Peter watched her go, a faint smile on his face. Then he turned his attention to the baby in his arms. The poor thing was still crying, deprived from sleep and too full to nurse.

"Hey, Elise, it's okay." Peter cooed, gently bouncing the baby in his arms. "It's okay Elise. You're gonna be okay."

Elise became aware that her mother was no longer holding her, and opened her eyes to chance a peak at Peter. Her crystal blue eyes had a dazzling affect on Peter, and all his previous grumblings faded. He may be tired in the morning, but it was worth it if he could sooth Elise to sleep.

So Peter began to hum a tune, the tune to a song he'd heard many a time on the radio yet had never fully appreciated until now. The words sounded in his ears as he smoothed Elise's red hair and gently rocked the baby back and forth as he walked up and down the hall. _There's two things I know for sure, she was sent from heaven, and she's daddy's little girl…_

El listened as the cries of Elise faded and the steady humming of Peter could be heard. A tear dropped from her face as she smiled, listening to Peter hum the tune to _Butterfly Kisses. _She prayed that even though this was a rough time in the process of raising a child, it would not pass too soon. She wanted it to last as long as it could, to hear her husband hum to their daughter and forget that he had a long day ahead of him at work. How unselfish and loving he was, and she knew she'd cherish this time for years to come.

* * *

"Whoa, you look tired, Peter." Neal commented, his black hair slicked back and his blue tailored suit neatly pressed. Peter glanced up at the conman and gave him a look.

"Elise didn't sleep last night." He stated simply, going through a stack of papers and filing away a couple of them.

"Still hasn't set into the groove of things, huh?" Neal inquired, sitting in the chair opposite of Peter and dropping a fresh and new stack of papers onto the desk. Peter moaned inwardly at the sight, knowing there would be many more such stacks to work through before the day was out.

"No, she hasn't. I certainly know where the grooves are though." Peter mumbled, picking up the first paper and glancing it over.

Neal raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"The ceiling, Neal. The ceiling." Peter muttered, glancing at the young man. "The ceiling has grooves."

Neal thought about this for a minute, and then grinned. "Someone has way too much time on his hands at night."

"Very funny."

Neal leaned back in the chair and let his grin grow wider, much to the annoyance of Peter. "So, when do Moz and I get to babysit?"

Peter looked up from his paperwork and laughed. "Dream on Neal." He sneered.

"I'm serious! You and El are going to need a break _sometime_. Mozzie and I would be happy to babysit!" Neal insisted, no longer leaning on the chair as he rested his elbows on Peter's desk. "We'd be the best babysitters ever!"

Peter shook his head. "Okay, first off, she's not old enough to be babysat. Second off, when she _is _old enough I am not too keen on the idea of her learning the trades you and Mozzie would be sure to show her."

Neal pretended to look offended. "Aww, Peter." He complained, "Don't you trust me yet?"

"Is that a joke?"

Neal narrowed his eyes. "I've proven myself loyal." He growled.

"Loyal, yes." Peter agreed. "Trustworthy, no."

"Thanks a lot, pal." Neal huffed.

At that second Peter's desk phone rang. Before he even had a chance to answer it Neal snatched it up and hit the answer button. "Neal Caffrey, Burke's personal aid how can I help you?" he said, grinning at Peter's death glare.

"Since when did I give you permission to answer _my _phone?" Peter hissed under his breath.

"Oh, El, how are you?" Neal asked sweetly, and Peter rose out of his chair.

"Let me talk to my wife." He barked. Neal of course ignored him.

"Aww, that's good. How's little Elise doing? Good? Can I come over and see her tonight?"

Peter was seriously considering lunging at Neal's throat, but decided against it as he would no doubt appeal to El if he tried it and he would be reprimanded.

"Thanks! I'll have Peter give me a ride over." Neal glanced at Peter, a smug grin tugging at his mouth.

"Something _really _bad is going to happen to you." Peter growled between gritted teeth.

"You want to talk to Peter? Sure, he's right here. Talk to you later El, bye."

Neal handed Peter the phone, his hint of a grin now no longer a hint. "El wants to talk to you Peter, if you have time." He said innocently. Peter snatched up his new 'World's Greatest Dad' mug and shoved it into Neal's empty hand.

"Coffee. Now." Peter ordered.

"Shesh, what's your problem?"

Peter only had to take a step towards Neal and he was out the door and down the stairs. Putting the receiver to his ear, he exhaled sharply. "Hi El." He mumbled.

El laughed on the other end. "Neal being a jerk?" she asked.

"You can say that again." Peter sat back down in his chair and leaned back, turning it around so he could face his window and look out at the wide expanse of New York City. Below him he could see the water fountain where a couple of children were trying to retrieve pennies, and several adults rushing to and fro. That's what New York City was, a place full of rushing around.

"As you probably heard, I invited Neal to come over tonight. Which probably means he will be staying for dinner." El was saying, snapping Peter out of his thoughts.

"More like he invited himself over tonight." Peter muttered.

"I have no problem with that." El giggled. "You have to admit hon, he's quite the character." _I know._ He had to put up with that character all the time. "And admit it, despite putting on the front that he drives you crazy you adore his smart remarks and quick wit."

Peter smiled. His wife knew him better than anyone else, that was for sure. "Yeah, he kind of grew on me." He said, a bit sheepishly.

"That's nothing to be embarrassed about. Anyways, the real reason I called is because Mozzie came by and wanted to see Elise, and I invited him for dinner tonight. So of course Neal will have to be invited too, and that means I need you to pick up some potato salad tonight to go with my Cornish chickens, okay?"

"Wait, Mozzie _and _Neal are joining us for dinner tonight?" Peter repeated, dropping a paper he'd been fiddling with.

"That's right. Don't worry dear, they don't scare the baby. See you tonight. Love you, hon."

"Love you too, hon." Peter automatically replied, then listened as she hung up. He put his hand over his eyes and groaned. _Mozzie and Neal over for dinner tonight. Greattt._

* * *

_So I'm just kind of making this up as I go along, happily writing away! :D I guess I'll just build off of this for the next chapter and then write something new. That's the fun thing about drabbling, you never know where your drips of creativity are going to take you!_

_Thanks for reading and please review and follow, that way you'll get notices when I update! _

_-Shire from CollieandShire_


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm back! And whew, I have a lot of thank-yous to write!  
_

_Thank you nycwc, Guest, govgal, Wondo, JeanneZ84 and pechika for the reviews, they mean a lot to me!  
Thank you diana17wc, caceylf123, Tinili, JeanneZ84 and IonaClaire for favoriting, that also means a lot to me!  
And thank you wordreader, jazzmonkey, govgal, diana17wc, caseylf123, adoptarescue and JeanneZ84 for following this story, you all are so awesome!_

_So a big thanks to everyone, everyone was really nice and inspired me greatly!_

_This particular scene/chapter will be short, I don't like mixing one shots or I have to build off of them, if you know what I mean. :) This is a continuation from the scene in the first chapter. Thanks for reading and please review!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

Despite his previous reservations of having the two conmen over for dinner that night, Peter found his time with Mozzie, Neal, El and Elise quite enjoyable. They'd put Elise into her little baby rocker and had set it up next to El, so whenever Elise woke up and cried El could get up and go to her to take care of her needs. For the most part the redheaded child slept through the entire meal, giving El and Peter a chance to visit with Mozzie and Neal.

With the presence of the baby at the table, the conversation mostly circulated around her.

"She's so adorable." Mozzie commented, smiling a little as he once more glanced over at Elise. He adjusted his glasses and studied her. "I have to hand it to you Suit, your Little Suit is really quite astoundingly beautiful."

"Of course she is." Peter grunted, looking slightly offended. "She's El's daughter after all."

"And yours." El reminded him, smiling. "She's both of ours."

"Still can't figure out where the crazy hair came from." Neal said between mouthfuls of chicken. "Neither of you have red hair."

"My mother did when she was young." El explained, picking up her spoon and daintily taking a bite. "And when I was little I had red highlights in my hair during the summer."

Peter turned to El. "I didn't know that!" he exclaimed.

El nodded. "Well I did. I was also quite headstrong."

"That I did know."

El gave him a fake glare, to which Peter grinned. "Ooo, I wouldn't cross over that line if I were you Peter." Neal laughed, wiping his mouth with a blue napkin. "Can I have some more chicken El?"

"Neal!" Peter groaned, giving his CI a look. "You've already had five pieces."

Neal leaned back a little in the chestnut brown chair he was sitting in and considered this. A smug look crossed his face, and he gestured to Mozzie. "Mozzie had six."

At that comment the little bald headed man turned from his meal to his partner and gaped at him. "What? I did no such thing!"

El began to laugh, and scooted the plate of Cornish chickens over to Neal. "Yes, you can have another one."

"Honestly Neal, sometimes you act like a child." Peter muttered under his breath.

"Does that mean Elise is my sister?" Neal asked smugly.

"Don't push it." Peter warned. "And I mean it."

At that second Elise began to cry, and the adults turned to see the child. "Well, she's awake. I guess I'd better take care of her." Elizabeth said, standing up from the table.

"No wait, I'll do it!" Mozzie and Neal volunteered at the same time, leaping from their chairs. Both of them glared at each other.

Peter glanced at all three, than stood up. "_I'll _do it." He stated.

"Don't get in the way of the mad daddy." Neal whispered in Mozzie's ear, smirking in the direction of Peter.

"You can all take turns boys." El assured them teasingly. "But the mother needs to take care of her child first."

That was that. When El spoke, no one dared defy her. So the lawman and the two conmen sat down and watched as El picked up the baby and walked out of the room.

"I get to hold her first." Neal announced. "After all, I'm the closest one to being her brother, right Peter?" he flashed Peter one of his charming conman smiles.

Peter could only roll his eyes.

* * *

_Yeah, it was short. But that's what drabbles are-short little stories or one-shots. I think I've decided I LOVE drabbling! This is so perfect for me! :D _

_Thanks for reading and do review, that would make me feel so special! ;) And I do recommend following the story-not for the sake of me getting followings (though of course I love that) but for the sake of my readers so they don't miss another chapter. Hope that makes sense. _

_I'll be back soon!_

_-Shire  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Well I'm back again! I'm updated a little early this week because I'm training a couple horses this week/giving some horseback riding lessons, so I won't be available to update very much. :) So I'm updating now!_

_Thanks to the following for the reviews: nycwc, Wondo, Adoptarescue, govgal, chicca01, pechika, JeanneZ84 and Stroma._

_Thanks to the following for favoriting: chicca01_

_Thanks to the following for, well, following! : nycwc, Wondo and chicca01._

_And if I missed naming you in my thank-yous I'm sorry! I try my best to write everyone down, but I'm slightly dyslexic and get cross-eyed. :)_

_So thanks again everyone! Here's the next installment!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_So I'm guessing this next scene takes place when Elise is two months old. She is now flailing her arms about and is smiling when someone smiles at her. I should probably point this out now in case someone wonders why Elise is progressing so fast: I don't remember much of my younger siblings when they were babies, but this past year I became an Aunt to an adorable little niece. Long story short, my niece grew really fast, saying 'mama' when she was only five months old! She grew so fast she was doing a lot of things most babies don't do until a month later. So she was a little early bird. Now if she'd only stop running around when I'm babysitting so I can write some more… ;)_

_Long explanation, but I figured I'd better get around to explaining sooner or later. :D_

_And now back to our story! It seems we are now with El instead of Peter. He must be running around New York fighting bad guys with Neal right now or something… :D Oh, and I just realized I kind of forgot Satchmo. Poor guy! He'll be in this drabble._

Elizabeth sat on the couch, rocking Elise back and forth in her arms. Elise was cooing and reaching up with her arms, staring up into Elizabeth's eyes. Every time the mother smiled at her daughter, her daughter would respond by smiling back. How touching it was to see her now responding to her surroundings, recognizing a smile and smiling right back at the one who'd graced her with one.

El glanced up as she heard a whine from the adjourning room. Her eyes caught sight of Satchmo, and she smiled at him. The poor dog hadn't been allowed to be around the baby in case he got jealous of someone taking over his master's attention, and he had yet to discover what the little wrapped bundle was that everyone loved so much.

"Hey Satchmo." El greeted. The yellow lab began to wag his tail furiously, and he licked his lips. "Do you wanna come see what I have, boy?"

Satchmo hesitated, wondering if this was an invitation to enter or not.

"It's okay boy!" El encouraged. "Come here!"

The dog needed no more prompting, he came trotting forward, his toenails clacking against the wooden floor as he passed from wood to carpet. He walked up to El and licked her hand, and she patted him on the head. "Good boy Satchmo." El praised, rubbing the dog's ear.

Elise let out a cry, wondering why her mother wasn't paying any attention to her. Satchmo raised his ears in surprise, and stared up at El in wonder. _What is that thing in the blanket? _His eyes seemed to be saying. It reminded Elizabeth of her favorite movie when she was younger, _The Lady and the Tramp. _The dog wandered up the hall in the movie wondering what a baby was, and once she'd discovered what it was she resolved to protect it no matter what. El wondered if that was just fanciful director's imaginations, or if dogs really did resolve things like that.

"Satchmo, would you like to see Elise?" El asked gently. Satchmo thumped his tail against the ground, giving a little whine again as she watched the tiny pair of arms flail up in the air and then back down. It was obvious he had no idea what that thing was.

El carefully lowered Elise down to a height Satchmo could see her, and the dog studied her with big sober eyes. He leaned forward and sniffed Elise's foot, and received a little bump as Elise kicked out her legs while blowing bubbles.

El watched the dog closely to see any signs of aggression, though she doubted the sweet dog would ever be that way. There of course were none, and a small smile crossed her face as she watched Satchmo study the baby. He looked up at El and wagged his tail, then went back to watching Elise. He was so patient, so intent on catching every move she made. And not in a bad way either, more like a overly cautious father who wants to make sure their child never has any hardships.

Elise watched the dog too, her eyes big and round as she beheld the canine in front of her. She made no sound, and El wondered if she was afraid of him.

This thought didn't last long, for Elise let out a little gurgle and began kicking and flailing her arms, smiling. It was obvious she wanted to go see this dog.

Satchmo seemed surprised and offended at the baby's sudden reaction, and lay down on the floor with a whimper. "What a good boy Satchmo, you're my good boy." El assured him. "Don't worry, she likes you."

The canine felt a little bit better at the reassuring voice of his master, and laid his head on his paws as he watched Elizabeth rock the baby to sleep.

One thing was for sure, El felt sure she could always count on their beloved dog to make sure no harm came to her child.

* * *

…_believed to be involved with illegal real-estate sales… _he hated this work so bad. He really, really, _really _hated this kind of work. He'd much rather be out dealing with art crimes, saving hostages or perhaps meeting new pretty girls. _That would be fun. _He thought. _But none of those girls would be Sara._

Neal looked up from his work and sighed. Both Peter and he grew _very _tired of these scams, and they were just too easy to solve. No great thinking involved, you simply went through their filings and found where they flawed. Things were always more interesting when they had some real criminals to chase down and catch. _Like Keller, right? _His mind teased him. No, not like Keller. Those kind of cases he didn't like at all.

The young reformed conman glanced around the office he worked at. There was Agent Harris, one of the new agents who'd joined not that long ago. Neal had found he actually was a pretty fun guy to be around, and he was certainly the kind of guy Neal would like to be with when confronted by a particularly aggressive criminal. The man was six foot seven, towering over everyone else and creating quite the imposing picture for any assailant who thought about resisting arrest.

Then there was Jones. Jones was dependable, friendly and a nice guy overall. He always had something to joke about, and really lightened the mood in the office. He too was good to have around in a fight, being a former Navy officer and all he could really throw in a good punch. And since Peter had regulated Neal from learning any defensive martial art moves, he most certainly wanted to be with the right kind of guys when they came across conmen and thieves like Keller.

Diane was no longer working at the White Collar Division of the FBI- after a CIA agent read her list of accomplishments she was transferred to Washington D.C. as a potential CIA agent, and was working her way through the program. Considering how quick she was with a gun and how skilled she was in detective work, Neal had no doubt she'd pass the training and go on to do international cases.

Then there was Peter. Peter Burke, the man that Neal had come to put into the position of almost father.

Thinking of Peter always caused Neal to turn and look up at the office where he could watch his every move. Peter was currently working through a stack of papers bigger than Neal's, and Neal had the urge to go up there and add more to the stack, just to annoy him. He grinned at the thought, then turned sober again.

There was just too many good things about Peter for him to list when he got down to it. If it weren't for Peter he would never be where he was today, working alongside the FBI instead of conning people out of their money. If it weren't for Peter he wouldn't have the life he did now, on a straight path instead of a crooked one. If it weren't for Peter…he could go on and on and on. The man had changed his life, and Neal was truly grateful. How excited he'd been right along side of him when they'd found out El was going to have a baby. _That was a fun day. _Neal chuckled to himself. Both Peter and Neal had fainted when they'd heard the news.

Now Elise had joined the Burke family, and Neal had officially been given the title of 'Uncle Neal.' Mozzie felt he should be given the title of Uncle Mozzie, but before he'd gone to the jury (Peter and Elizabeth) Neal had explained to him that only people younger than Peter could be given the title of Uncle. In other words, he wanted to be the 'one and only' adopted Uncle to little Elise, and Mozzie knew it.

Elise. What a beautiful name, and it matched such a beautiful child. It was evident from the beginning that she was going to be dazzling when she got older. Her hair was as fiery as, well, fire! Her eyes were such a deep blue that Neal had once remarked to Peter that, "You could drown in those eyes."

He'd always wanted a little sister. His whole life he'd wanted one, but it of course had never happened. Now he got to enjoy his partner's child, which was better than nothing. He had a way with kids, and he liked them. He wanted to make sure they went straight, unlike him.

"Neal!" Neal looked up and saw Peter leaning on the railing. "Come here."

_Good news! _Neal thought cheerfully. Peter only told him 'in my office now' when something was a foot, or he did the silent finger gesture. As of late, when he just wanted to tell him something that El had called him about he merely said 'come here.'

Neal got up from his chair and stretched, walking smugly by Harris and stopping at his desk. "Gonna go see the big man, yep, we're just this close." Neal said, put two fingers together to show Harris what he meant.

Harris looked up from his work, his brown eyes clearly saying that he really didn't care what Neal was talking about. "And why are you telling me this?" he asked in his clear, deep voice.

"You're really no fun to tease Harris." Neal pretended to complain.

Harris grinned. "I don't make it my profession to be."

Neal patted the new agent on the back, and then walked to Peter's office.

Upon entering Peter's office he could tell that it was some more news on Elise. "Guess what?" Peter said, his smile wide and his brown eyes shining. He was sitting in his office chair.

"Elise walked?" Neal guessed.

Peter snorted. "Way too early for her to be walking Neal, she's only two months old."

Neal shrugged. "I guessed."

Peter shook his head, and then stood up. "El let Satchmo and Elise meet each other today, and Satchmo liked her." Peter announced proudly.

It never ceased to amaze Neal how boyish Peter became when he talked about his daughter. The funnier thing? He only called Neal into his office to tell these things to, no one else.

Neal smiled. "That's great Peter. Are we going to celebrate?"

Peter looked a trifle confused. "Why?" he asked.

"Just because." Neal told him, grinning. "You and El can go out of the house for a nice celebration and Mozzie and I will babysit!"

Peter laughed. "Still not happening Neal. She's still not old enough for that."

"Can I come over then? You know how much she likes me."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not. Maybe we can pick up some ice-cream on the way over and we'll share that for your little 'celebration.'"

Neal grinned widely. "I like ice cream."

* * *

_So this was kind of a random little clip I wanted to write about Neal's thoughts on Elise and Satchmo's first time meeting the baby. I think that's what I like focusing on right now, just little random clips of what everyone thinks of Peter and El's baby. Eventually she'll get old enough that we can have some real fun with her character, and focus more on what her life is like at home._

_Oh, and as you noticed I've created a new agent, Agent Emanuel Harris. If anyone has ever read the _Kidnapped! _books,(I can't remember who the author is, but he also wrote the _On the Run_ series) he's the FBI agent in that series. I really liked him and always wanted to add him to the White Collar group, so I did.  
_

_Hope you enjoyed and please review! Thank you! And I promise I'll get into more interesting things soon when I update next!_

_-Shire _


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, I'm back again. Whew, I had a crazy week, and it's going to get more crazy as I get ready to ride my horse in a parade and give more horseback riding lessons and train more horses. But I'll try to keep this going, don't worry! I really want to get into when Elise is getting older and talking. I'm working at a house that has a four-year-old and the little girl comes out and talks to me the whole hour while I weed the lawn for them. She's really inspiring me for when Elise gets older. :)  
_

_Thanks to the following for reviews: nycwc,govgal,pechika and Miss MaryAnn. Boy howdy you make my day when you review, and thanks for being so faithful in doing so!_

_Thanks to the following for following: zafttwin and LilyLatendresse63. You inspire me to write more, knowing I have readers who read! :)_

_And thank you zafttwin for favoriting, I appreciate it greatly! :)_

_And a little note to all whom I've previously sent PM for reviewing-I want to make sure you know I greatly appreciate your reviews and I am very indebted to you, but I'm having trouble finding time to write all my thank-yous to you awesome folks due to my busy life! So I will make sure to thank you here each and every time, and I will try to send thank you messages but they may be sporadic depending on my life. But thank you anyways so much! You are all very encouraging! :)_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_So I figure Elise is about, erm, three or four months old now. And on this particular day Peter has the day off and Neal came over to talk to him. Elizabeth is out shopping, so Peter is watching Elise for the afternoon._

Peter sat on the couch with a beer in his hand as he listened to Neal, every now and then casting a watchful eye on his red-haired daughter as she lay on the floor giggling and kicking her feet. She had in her hand a teething ring, which she would jerk around in her little hand and gurgle, smiling at what she could do.

As Neal continued on in what he was telling Peter, he began to realize the FBI agent wasn't really listening and noted that he obviously was distracted with Elise. Knowing this fact to be a truth, Neal decided to throw in a little surprise in the conversation.  
"So I told Mozzie that cows jump over the moon and spoons really do run away with dishes, and after that we went and got a gallon of ice-cream at the bar." Neal said, a small smile crossing his face.

"That's nice." Peter murmured, continuing to watch Elise. It took him a couple of seconds to process what Neal had just said. When it registered though, the lawman's eyes widened and he turned to Neal. "Wait, you bought a gallon of ice-cream at the bar and told Mozzie cows really do jump over the moon?" he exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

Neal laughed and slapped his knee. "I knew you weren't listening, so I thought I'd throw something funny in."

Peter shook his head and sighed. "Sorry Neal, I was-"

"Distracted with Elise, I know." Neal finished, turning his gaze towards the child. "It's fine Peter, she easily distracts."

"Hey look!" Peter cried, leaping up from the couch and setting his beer down on the little table that stood next to it. "She's going to roll over!"

Both Neal and Peter watched eagerly as Elise strained her body and tried to roll onto her stomach, her eyes determined as she tried to reach the toy she'd tossed to her left side. With one more reach Elise rolled over and grabbed her toy, putting it in her mouth.

"That's the first time she's rolled over! She just rolled over!" Peter repeated, his face breaking into a wide grin. "Wait until I tell El."

"With the way you're carrying on, I'm sure she's heard you by now." Neal teased.

"This is a huge step in the growth process, Neal." Peter retorted, stooping over and picking up his daughter. "This is one of those things El's going to have to put on her baby calendar." Elise giggled and reached up, grabbing her daddy's nose.

"Aww, how cute." Neal commented, reaching over and letting Elise grab his finger next. "She's really growing fast, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Peter agreed, bouncing the baby a little. He glanced at Neal. "Soon enough she'll be old enough to be babysat."

Neal's eyes lit up with delight. "You mean you'll actually let me babysit?" he asked, a giant smile on his face. "You really mean you'll let me do it?"

"Only _when _she is old enough, and that might not be for another seven years." Peter told the conman. Neal's face fell. "I'm just kidding Neal." he chuckled.

Sighing with relief, Neal pretended to be annoyed. "Look, it's not like I'm going to teach her how to break into a car on the first night, she's not even old enough to learn that yet."

"Well, when she is old enough for El and I to be able to go out and leave her with a baby sitter, I suppose if El's okay with it you can watch her for us." Peter said in thought. Then gave Neal a stern look. "Which means you'll have to be put through the babysitter class and graduate it with a degree in diaper changing."

"I'm game."

* * *

_**A/N:** And now ladies and gentlemen, Neal's first night in babysitting! :D  
_

When the day came, Peter was downright nervous. So nervous he considered skipping out on the evening to make sure everything would be alright.

Peter stared in the mirror, tying his tie and straightening his collar. From the reflection in the mirror he could see El behind him, slipping on some blue shoes which matched her elegant blue dress. Peter was wearing a blue shirt to match his wife, and black pants. His tie was black also, and he put on one of his expensive coats.

Turning to his wife, he smiled at how beautiful she was as she brushed her hair for the millionth time.

El caught sight of his gaze, and smiled. "What are you smiling at hon?" she asked.

"Oh, you're just so beautiful tonight, that's all." Peter said softly. He came over to the side of the bed and sat down, glancing down at the baby's crib. Elise was sleeping soundly, and he gently caressed her cheek with his hand. A frown crossed his face, and he fingered the little girl's fiery red hair.

"What's wrong, Peter?"

Peter turned to El and sighed. "Are you sure she's ready for this?"

El couldn't help but laugh, and she came and sat down next to her husband. "She will be fine, dear." Elizabeth told him. "She's five months old now, plenty old enough for us to leave her for an hour or two."

Peter grimaced. "But El, are you sure Neal's good enough to-"

"Neal passed the babysitter test I gave him, remember?" Peter's wife reminded him. "He can even change a dirty diaper."

"You had to show him at least four times." Peter muttered.

"That's about how many times I showed you, hon." El giggled. She hugged Peter and kissed him on the lips. "Dear, don't worry about it. Honestly you're acting like a mother hen. I'm supposed to act like that, remember?"

Peter gave a hint of a smile, and turned his eyes back on Elise. "I'm sure everything will be fine, right?"

El nodded. "Of course it will be, Peter. Everything will work out just fine."

* * *

Neal was there to see Peter and El off, waving from the door as they drove away. He watched until they were down the street, then went into the house and closed the door behind him. Satchmo whined, his big eyes glued to the door.

"It's okay buddy, they'll be back soon." Neal assured the dog, patting him on the head. He glanced towards Peter and Elizabeth's room. He didn't hear anything, and guessed Elise was asleep.

_Boy, I thought Peter and El would never leave. _He thought to himself. Peter was sure hesitant about letting him babysit his daughter. What amazed him even more was the fact he actually had _let him do it! _It was obvious the FBI agent trusted his CI more than he let on, enough to let him babysit his five-month old daughter.

Neal sat down on the couch and gave a sigh, a pleasant smile on his face. He, Neal Caffrey, greatest Conman of all time was babysitting for a Fed!

Deciding this was a good time to gloat over his newly achieved status, Neal whipped out his cell phone and texted Mozzie. _Hey Moz, I'm babysitting. _he tapped in on the touch screen phone.

He waited a minute, watching the screen intently. _Bzzz._ The phone buzzed, lighting up as a reply from Mozzie came in.

_Who are you babysitting? Suit and Mrs. Suit didn't let you babysit Baby Suit, did they? _

Neal chuckled to himself, and typed back. _Bingo._

A couple seconds later Mozzie sent him a return message. _Why didn't they ask me to help you? _

_Peter wanted to see if I could handle it myself before I added any more trouble. _Neal wrote back. At that second he heard Elise give out a shrill cry. Looking up from his phone, he caught sight of Satchmo, who was trotting towards the door to where the baby was. Satchmo met Neal's gaze and whimpered, wagging his tail as if to say _My friend wants to get up now! _

"I'm coming Satch." Neal assured the dog. He sent Mozzie another text. _Elise is crying, gotta go get her up. _

He pocketed the phone and went into the bedroom.

Elise had rolled over onto her tummy and was trying to reach her favorite teething ring, crying because she couldn't reach it. Neal gently picked her up and set her in his right arm, bending over and picking up the teething ring.

"Hi Elise." He greeted, handing the redhead her ring. Elise snatched it out of his hand and stuck it in his mouth, ceasing her blubbering and commencing to sucking. She looked up at Neal with her big blue eyes, and paused her sucking, almost as if she was wondering why Neal had picked her up instead of her mommy. She must have dismissed the strange occurrence, for once more she began to suck on her teething ring and then reached up with her left hand and grabbed Neal's lip, pulling on it.

"Aren't you a silly baby?" Neal cooed, bringing Elise into the living room and setting out her play blanket. He set her on her back on the floor, and pulled out some toys from the toy box.

Lining them up all over the blanket, he watched, satisfied, as Elise rolled over and grabbed the nearest toy, a stuffed horse. _I bet she's going to love horses when she gets older. _Neal mentally noted, recalling that whenever she was given her stuffed animals she always grabbed the brown horse. _Guess Peter's going to have to start looking for a pony. _Ha! Probably not.

Neal sat down on the floor and took the horse from Elise's hand. "Hey Elise, watch this!"

He squeezed the horse, knowing that when he did so it would produce a neighing sound. The stuffed horse neighed, and Neal made it run across the floor really fast. Elise watched, her eyes wide as she beheld the sight. Then she began to giggle.

Neal made the horse run across the floor again and again, laughing as Elise began to giggle loudly, her little arms flailing out in excitement. Satchmo lay on the carpet next to the blanket, his tail wagging as he watched also, every now and then giving a little bark. _This is going to be a fun night. _Neal thought. His first night in the babysitting business.

* * *

_Another Neal and Elise scene. What can I say, it's so much fun to write things from Neal's perspective, seeing how he's the one learning so much from all of this! :) And besides, it was Neal's first time babysitting. I so see him being good with kids. :)_

_Thanks for reading and please review! I appreciate it!_

_-Shire _


	5. Thank you!

Attention readers!

Due to shortage of time and no inspiration to write anymore in this particular story, I decided to bring it to an end.

Thank you all who have reviewed, favorited and followed, you have encouraged me in more ways than one!

Special thanks to last1standing and The M.H.T. of R, who gave me a lot of personal encouragement and really helped me along with this.

To The M.H.T. of R, though you like to remain a behind the scenes gal you have helped me a lot in a big way up front. What would I do without you? :) You're encouraging and inspiring, and I'm glad you're my friend.

To last1standing, though you probably didn't realize it you really did inspire me and gave me a lot of encouragement during a hard time in my writing. I appreciate that and thanks so much for talking with me about White Collar and Hogan's Heroes!

Thank you to the following for reviewing:

nycwc, Guest 1, govgal, Wondo, Jeannez84, pechika, Adoptarescue, chicca01, Stroma, Miss MaryAnn and last1standing. You were all so encouraging, so friendly and wonderful to me, I really appreciate it!

Thank you to the following for favoriting:

Cry Benihime, IonaClaire, JeanneZ84, RainbowSplash1984, The Room Spins, Tinili, caseylf123, chicca01, diana17wc, nextplease and zafttwin. You all are amazing and flatter me that you considered my story good enough to favorite. Thank you so much!

Thank you to the following for following: JackSam, JeanneZ84, LilyLatendresse63, RainbowSplach1994, The Room Spins, Wondo, adoptarescue, caseylft123, chicca01, diana17wc, govgal, jazzmonkey, last1standing, mysticgirl101, nextplease, nycwc, wordreader and zafttwin. You followers are what encourage me to write, I know you're waiting for another part of the story and I am determined to get another chapter out to you! So thank you!

Though I am no longer writing in this story I am planning a future White Collar story involving Peter and Elise. Here is the summary for it and keep your eyes peeled on the archives for when it comes out! Thank you my loyal supporters!

* * *

**Leverage is Revenge**

Elise is now five years old and is the pride of Peter and Elizabeth's life, as well as Neal's. But a enemy from the past can change anyone's dream life into a nightmare-especially when you know they have no intention of letting your daughter live.


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